Emil "Mark" Marquardt

December 4, 1940 - August 17, 2013

Obituary

Emil Carl "Mark" Marquardt Jr., 72, died at his Belleair home on August 17th after a long and courageous cancer fight. He was born at Morton Plant Hospital on Dec. 4, 1940, and was the eldest child of Emil Carl and Connie Marquardt of Clearwater Beach. His passions were his family, his Catholic faith, hiking and kayaking in Florida and the Tetons, and mentoring other men in their development of a deeply spiritual life through directed retreats and prayer programs. Mark graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1962 and the Duke University Law School in 1965. After graduating, he was attorney for the Office of Economic Opportunity...

Emil Carl "Mark" Marquardt Jr., 72, died at his Belleair home on August 17th after a long and courageous cancer fight. He was born at Morton Plant Hospital on Dec. 4, 1940, and was the eldest child of Emil Carl and Connie Marquardt of Clearwater Beach. His passions were his family, his Catholic faith, hiking and kayaking in Florida and the Tetons, and mentoring other men in their development of a deeply spiritual life through directed retreats and prayer programs. Mark graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1962 and the Duke University Law School in 1965. After graduating, he was attorney for the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington, D.C., and then served as a Captain, Air Force Judge Advocate from 1966-1968. He joined the McMullen, Everett Law Firm in Clearwater in 1969, where he quickly became a named partner. He remained with the firm, which is now Macfarlane, Ferguson & McMullen, P.A., for the remainder of his professional life, serving as its Chairman from 2000-2003. He was proud of his successful legal practice and the ability it gave him to serve others.Over the course of his many years of community service, Mark was Chairman of the Pinellas County Health Facilities Authority; a board member for the Community Services Foundation; President of Family Service Centers; a board member of the Madonna Ptak Alzheimer Foundation; a member of the Planning and Finance committees of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg; a director of Fiat Association; President of Legatus; and a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He was a lifelong member of St. Cecelia Catholic Church.Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Carol Southmayd Marquardt, who was his strong partner and best friend; two sons, John Matthew (Stephanie) of Largo and Christopher Carl (Marie) of Atlanta, Georgia; eight wonderful grandchildren; sister, Mary, of Largo; brother John (Marcia) of Rochester, N.Y.; several nephews, nieces and other family members.Moss-Feaster Funeral Home will handle arrangements. The family will receive friends at St. Cecelia on Thursday August 22nd from 6-8 p.m., with Msgr. David Toups presiding over a wake service at 7 p.m. Bishop Robert Lynch will celebrate a funeral mass at St. Cecelia on Friday August 23rd at 10 a.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Mark's name be made either to the Mark Marquardt '62 Alumni Spirituality Fund at the University of Notre Dame (c/o Chris Walsh, University of Notre Dame Development Office, 1251 North Eddy Street, Suite 300, South Bend, IN 46617) or the Skip Cline Society of the Morton Plant Mease Foundation.